"New perspectives are emerging from scientific philosophy which
suggest the new worldview required for a new way of thinking... for half a
century we have been in the midst of a conceptual revolution that is once again
changing the scientist's conception of space, matter, force, and the structure
of the universe."
(Kuhn T. The Copernican Revolution
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press 1957)
Knowledge as
Understanding: Function of Theoretical Framework or
'Paradigm'
Humanist approach to ‘science’ as
science of wholeness or 'holistic
science'
(mature science)
theme: Science is a human activity which
brings to awareness aspects of reality which were unknown but which were there
all the time before they were discovered. Possibilities for discovery depend on
the prevailing theoretical framework, worldview or 'paradigm'. The word 'paradigm' was popularized by
the American physicist turned historian Thomas Kuhn (photo) in his book entitled
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
conceived
while he was a graduate student in theoretical physics at
Harvard
University
and published in 1962.
Kuhn's
historical analysis of scientific paradigms
explains the process of scientific activity and
discovery progressive
‘science’.
Kuhn
analysed
the thought process of working scientists
in terms of their perception
of reality,
their awareness
or 'consciousness'.
He showed that progressive scientific activity or
the 'history of science' can be explained
in terms of shifts in conceptual or
theoretical framework or 'paradigm shifts' and these brought about intellectual
or 'scientific' revolutions. His book represented a landmark in the intellectual history of the
twentieth century.
"Kuhn
uses the term 'paradigm' in one sense to denote 'the entire constellation,
values, techniques and so on shared by the members of a given community.' In
this sense - as a set of shared constructs - a paradigm in science is on the
same order as other community-shared world views e.g. Buddhism.("We are what we think. All that we are arises with
our thoughts.") The means by which paradigms are perpetuated and
transmitted are akin to the process of socialization into any other
group-specific reality. Professional training is a secondary specialization whereby
the fledgling scientist acquires a role-specific paradigm."
(Roger Walsh, M.D. PhD Frances Vaughan Ph.D. Beyond Ego: Transpersonal
Dimensions of Psychology Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher, Inc. 1980. p.30)
home
The human
species as an exploratory species ... holistic
science and the
relationship between physics and metaphysics...
What is a
paradigm?..
Thomas Kuhn's argument for 'scientific
revolutions'...
'paradigm
crisis' and 'paradigm debate'...
'paradigm shift':
the
basis for progress in science...
Implications
for education...
‘holistic perception’... ability to perceive connections
between the wholes and the parts which make them up.
The human
species is an exploratory species and
'science' is
an exploratory activity.
Scientific activity
is
the
human process of
discovering the truth
and as the
activity of
truth-finding
it is
a
natural process of common sense inquiry which is rooted in the human instinct for
self-preservation. As
an exploratory activity, human scientific
activity is a holistic process
which
involves the functions of emotion and
cognition operating together
synergistically...
involves
ideas as well facts...
It
involves not only the
observation of the material world -
objective
experimental
or 'scientific'
data (physics) but also
awareness or 'consciousness'
as it is
understood by the observer
and manifest in the form of subjective perceptions (metaphysics). Perceptions
are based on the individual’s understanding
or 'knowledge'.
Knowledge is a function of
the relationship between physics and metaphysics... between facts and
perceptions. The
relationships
between physics and
metaphysics
are examined carefully in the
conceptual or theoretical framework or 'paradigm'
of the
science of
'connectedness' or 'wholeness'
i.e.
‘holistic science'. Holistic science involves
the
consciousness of
the observer
(experimenter) as
well as the the data of their
experimentation and observation. In effect reality is consciousness
and holistic science is a 'looking-glass science because it
observes
itself. According to the philosophy
of
holistic science... the universe is a mirror or
'looking-glass'... a reflection of the observer's
state of awareness or 'consciousness'
as it is represented by the
assumptions inherent in the prevailing theoretical framework or 'paradigm'.
The
possibilities for
discovery depend on
perception
determined by the prevailing theoretical framework or 'paradigm'.
What is a paradigm? A paradigm is derived from conceptual thinking. Unlike
other species of animal, the human organism
is able to
conceptualise...
formulate
thoughts or
concepts which
colour their
perceptions of the
environment. The thinking process is influenced by experiences and conditioning of
upbringing, education,
social and
cultural history. These all help to create a mental
framework,
worldview
or
'paradigm' based on given assumptions which become
the guideposts
in life
and
are taken for granted in the
interpretation of
events and circumstances
in the environment.
Some
examples
of 'paradigms': mind-body dualism
(Descartes), planetary model of the atom
(Bohr), elementary particle nature
of matter (Newton),
the flowing current model of electricity, the double helix model of
DNA (Watson and Crick), the theory of relativity (Einstein),
discontinuous structure of nature
(quantum mechanics),
classic science or
'reductionism and Darwin's theory of evolution.
In
l858
the
theory of evolution of Darwin
(and Wallace)
described in the book The Origin of
Species
published in l859 their thesis supported by the available
evidence, continues to be supported by new evidence, and remains valid for well
over a century.The current version of Darwin's theory, called neo-Darwinism,
derives from a synthesis of the evolutionary theory with the more recent
knowledge of genetics and genetic theory (formulated in the l920s,'30s and
'40s)
According to neo-Darwinism, organisms best adapted to
a given environment survive to reproduce offspring and in this way pass on the
favorable characteristics. Changes in the environment can render those same
characteristics unsuitable for the organism's survival and reproduction.
Spontaneous changes in the genetic material of the organism, called mutations,
take place irrespective of the conditions in the organism's environment. If the
organism is well adapted to an environment and the environment does not change,
the mutations are not passed on to following generations. If the environment
changes and a spontaneous mutation contributes to the adaptability of the
organism in the new environment, then that mutation increases the chances of
the organism's survival. The mutation of 'survival value' is 'selected'.
'Selection' of the mutation is a result of its ability to increase the chances
of the organism's capacity for survival and reproduction, and its passage to
the offspring and succeeding generations.
Examining the record of past research from the vantage of contemporary
historiography, the historian of science may be tempted to exclaim that when
paradigms change, the world itself changes with them. Led by a new paradigm,
scientists adopt new instruments and look in new places. Even more important,
during revolutions scientists see new and different things when looking with familiar
instruments in places they have looked before. It is rather as if the
professional community has been suddenly transported to another planet where
familiar objects are seen in a different light and are joined by unfamiliar
ones as well. Of course, nothing of quite that sort does occur: there is no
geographical transplantation; outside the laboratory everyday affairs usually
continue as before. Nevertheless, paradigm changes do cause scientists to see
the world of their research engagement differently. In so far as their only
recourse to that world is through what they see and do, we may want to say that
after a revolution scientists are responding to a different world."
(Thomas Kuhn. 1962. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: Chicago
University Press.)
Kuhn's argument
for scientific revolutions
involves shifts in worldview or
'paradigm'.
Before
Kuhn's
book was
published the prevailing view
of the progress of
science
was
based on
the notion that change in the history of science is due to a strictly
rational or ‘objective’ process involving the rational
accumulation of knowledge
('orthodox science'). Kuhn argued that scientific activity is not only
an
objective
process
but
a
progressive
one as
well. He
explained the
progress
of science (‘progressive science’)
in terms of intellectual or 'scientific' revolutions and the
formulation
of theories
with
given assumptions.
Kuhn
made a
historical
analysis of
the nature of progressive science in terms of 'scientific activity'.
He posed the question 'what is science?' in terms of what scientists
really do rather than in terms of what
they 'should' do when they perform experiments and
make theories.
He explained
that
in fact scientists design their experiments
and make their observations within the
context of a theoretical or conceptual framework based
on
the prevailing perspective of reality,
belief,
worldview
or
theory
which forms a working model or 'paradigm'.
A paradigm is a shared perspective of reality... a way of looking at the world.
A paradigm can be likened to spectacles through which one perceives the
world.
A paradigm
is
a theory, a theoretical framework, a working model
or
'map' which provides a
general outline and direction for scientific activity.
Paradigms determine perceptions. The nature of the
paradigm determines the
assumptions underlying the
theoretical
structure or framework within which the scientist designs
experiments
and analyses...
evaluates...
observations and experimental data.
Hypotheses are formulated and then tested with the possibility of substantiating
the prevailing paradigm or else giving rise to a new one. In this way the the scientist as an
important factor in the modification of paradigms.
The map is not the territory. ...A person or society may think that what they
are aware of (actually what their culturally acquired schemata allows them to
be aware of ) is an accurate representation of the world, and the culturally
derived schemata of understanding may distort fundamental relationships...
Each new generation of working
scientists accepts the structural framework of the prevailing paradigm as the true nature of reality or
'truth'.
New sets of experiments
are designed in the context of the new paradigm and the new point
of
view.In this way the
process continues and science 'progresses'.
Science progresses within the
framework of definite intellectual periods separated by intellectual
or
‘scientific
revolutions’
involving
paradigm
crises,
paradigm debates and paradigm shifts in which
a
prevailing paradigm
is replaced
by another more appropriate one.
He
explored the
periods of 'paradigm crises' when new theories arise to explain
observations
considered anomalous within a prevailing paradigm.
Progress in science
('progressive science') involvew 'paradigm shifts'.
Paradigm shifts are the basis for
progress in science.
Experiments
are designed within the theoretical framework of a paradigm and experimental
data... observations are analysed within the context of the same framework.
Data which
cannot
be explained by the theoretical
structure or
paradigm
within which the
experiment has been designed are considered to be 'anomalous'.
Anomalous data which do not fit the
paradigm bring
about a ‘paradigm crisis'. Paradigm crisis is followed by
controversy followed by controversy or 'paradigm debate'. In the course of a paradigm
debate, scientists
working
within the
framework of
different paradigms
are unable to communicate clearly with each other...
they talk 'through each other'.
Some will attempt to fit the anomalous data into the prevailing
paradigm; others will attempt to explain the anomalous data in
the framework of a new paradigm.
When the new theories are able to explain anomalous data then the
'spectacles' of the
new paradigm
will replace those of the old one... there is a shift in
paradigm or 'paradigm shift'. A
paradigm shift involves a change in the perception of reality as if through
different coloured spectacles.
Experiments are designed in the new
paradigm and the data are interpreted in terms of its support for or detraction from
the
new paradigm.The outcome leads either to the continued validity of the
prevailing paradigm or to the substantiated validity of the new
one.
As an example, the dual nature of
light - behaviour of photons as particles and waves – could not be explained by
the theory of classical
Newtonian
mechanics .
Human scientific activity is a
holistic process involving human consciousness as knowledge
of one’s own
consciousness or 'self-knowledge'
as well as
objective experience or knowledge as
observation.
" There is a new paradigm or worldview that reflects a more
integrative point of view... the collective, cooperative, and organizational
aspects of nature..." (Paul Davies. The Cosmic
Blueprint: New Discoveries in Nature's Creative Ability to Order the Universe
New York: Simon & Schuster 1988)
"There is a new 'paradigm' - a change in consciousness from
seeing the world in a mechanical way (Newtonian paradigm of regularity, order,
precisipon, and predicatability). New dialectic between 'phenomenon and
perception' - puts more emphasis on human response and subjectivity. In this
new paradigm, our understanding of the world - reality - is mediated by
language, beliefs, values, and ways of being... Our perception and images of
the world affect our experience of the world." (David Purpel,
1989. The Moral and Spiritual Crisis in Education: A Curriculum for Justice
and Compassion in Education. Masschusetts, Bergin and Garvey Publishers,
Inc. 133)
References:
J. P Briggs and D.Peat.
Looking
Glass Universe: The Emerging Science of Wholeness
Thomas Kuhn (1922-1995)
www.des.emory.edu/mfp/Kuhnsnap.html
challenges every single dividing line between areas
of study and knowledge... examines a new paradigm or worldview that reflects a
more integrative point of view... the collective, cooperative, and
organizational aspects of culture
Rather than viewing the individual as an autonomous and reflective being, we
should focus on the person as an interactive member of a larger ecology; look
at the entire system.
Implications for education
need for paradigm change
(The person with
complete
inner freedom is able to
make interpretations of
the environment
which are not coloured by preconceived concepts and assumptions and this
makes the process of adaptation much less problematical.)
There is a general demand for the democritization of education. Each individual
has the right to an education which provides the opportunity for
self-empowerment - to develop the powers of intrinsic motivation required for
them to be able to control their own future. The new paradigm which is emerging
is based on a new concept of effective teaching.
In the new paradigm of teaching, the function of the effective teacher can no
longer be described in terms of authoritarianism and control... the teacher's
function is described in terms of authority and facilitation of the learning
process.
The goals of education are being shaped by the new holistic science which
forms the basis for a holistic education. The new methodology of holistic
science acknowledges the participation ...subjective experiences of the
observer in the process of observation... experimental situations... by the
same token, the new educational methodology recognizes and validates the
participation of the learner in the learning process ...
The organic learning theories are in agreement with recent brain research and
an organic worldview which perceives the world as an interconnected developing
organism. The empowered learner is perceived as an active participant in
self-directed learning, organizing experiences and creating new patterns and
meanings according to psychological processes which relate to the individual's
motivation, needs and personal meaning.
The new paradigm of education has one paramount concern - the learner's
inner life. From the perspective of this new framework, the hierarchical and
mechanical school environment of traditional education is viewed differently.
Institutionalized education with its emphasis on conditioning and behavioral
outcomes is no longer relevant in the times of mass comunications and the
'global village.' As well as the sequential printed word, information is
derived from multisensory sources of varying forms and intensities. The
complexity of information requires the brain to process simultaneously
multitudinous stimuli - sights, sounds, images, ideas and others. For the
purpose of survival, the brain must be able to derive meaning from a complex
environment. The educational paradigm of industrialism and behaviorism has
become too limited. The
educational experience for growing children is no longer a matter of simple
preparation for a future working life. The educational experience must enable
them to adapt to a changing environment and changing circumstances. It must
prpeare them for personal fulfillment and a life of change. It must engage
their full capacity for learning, and for learning to learn. For a future of
change and a global perspective in the global village, their subjective life
must become of paramount concern in education. It is no longer possible to
ignore their inner experience.
Critical to educational policy is the following question: "which worldview
is shaping the goals of education?" Educational goals are set within the
framework of a prevailing worldview or paradigm. Information is presented and
reflected upon within the context of an accepted worldview. In the past, the
worldview of empirical science has been shaping the goals of education., This
worldview is now being challenged by the worldview of wholistic science. The
goals of education are being shaped by the new wholistic science.
The word 'learning' has had the meaning which was used in the very traditional
teaching methodology in which students had to 'learn' by rote ... Seriously
questioned today, this method has given way to other methods which still
require the student to 'learn' static pieces of information in isolation -
pieces which can be incorporated into more complicated contexts. Traditional
teaching methods were formulated within the framework of the belief that
learning involves only the conscious part of the mind and can therefore be
facilitated by the structure of the method. Using traditional teaching methods,
teachers depend on textbooks to decide what students will learn and how they
will learn it.
Many methods of teaching are based on combinations of theories of learning...
According to Skinner's work described in his book Verbal Behaviour (1957),
learning is a matter of learning a behaviour. According to his psychological
theory of behaviourism, 'learning' language is a result of conditioned
behaviour. The stimulus - response - reinforcement model of learning...
Learning is a natural process based on the physiological functions of the
brain. Learning involves the transmission of signals along nerve cells or
'neurons' and across their junctional connections or 'synapses'. Learning is a
function of modification of the synapse. "Learning occurs as a result of
changing the effectiveness of synapses so that their influence on other neurons
also changes." (Geoffrey Hinton, "How Neural Networks Learn from
Experience," Scientific American, 267:3, September 1992, 145)
...learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception of
stimuli which are not in the field of focused attention...discuss the
importance of peripheral stimuli in the activation of internal processing in
learning....intrinsic motivation...
Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs' is related to the range
of drives of individual meanings known as 'deep meanings. (See Maslow, A.H.
1968 "Toward a Psychology of Being." New York: D. Van Nostrand) Deep
meanings are at the core of intrinsic motivation. The providey the individual
with a sense of direction and with the energy needed to carry out a particular
task.
... children are naturally curious. Their natural curiosity is the source of
their self-motivation for learning, the source of the motivation which comes
from within themselves - their 'intrinsic motivation'. Intrinsically motivated
by their curiosity, they
depend for their continued motivation on adult
approval.
With a shift in paradigm to a systems approach, it becomes possible to view the
learning process in all its complexity. ...shift in the conceptualization of
the teaching and learning paradigm ...
Enhanced learning depends on the reconceptualization of teaching ... one based
on the knowledge of brain functioning.The theoretical wholistic framework is
based on the knowledge of brain functioning.
Within the context of the new paradigm, the formulation of educational aims
does not necessitate the separate consideration of outcome and process.
'Content' as information is considered in terms of its significance. The
content of one field is regarded in terms of its relationship to other fields.
'Process' as method is considered in terms of making associations and extending
relationships. In a theoretical study of the learning process, 'content' and
'process' are considered simultaneously. Within the framework of the new
paradigm, content and process are interrelated. Educational aims are formulated
in terms of the interrelationship between the objective content and a
subjective process. The aim of education for students is defined in terms of
their need to apply what they learn to an understanding of themselves and their
world.
Sam Crowell
A New Way of Thinking: The
Challenge for the Future Educational Leadership vol. 47 no.1 (September 1989)
60-63
The greatest challenge facing education is the need to "discover with our
students a new way of thinking." This requires a new worldview. New
perspectives are emerging from scientific philosophy which suggest the new
worldview required for a new way of thinking. (Kuhn T. The Copernican
Revolution Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press 1957) explains that
"for half a century we have been in the midst of a...conceptual revolution
that is once again changing the scientist's conception of space, matter, force,
and the structure of the universe. Peter Drucker ("The Age of
Discontinuity" New York: Harper and Row 1969) "The fact that we are
shifting from a Cartesian view of the universe, in which the accent has been on
parts and elements, to a configuration view, with emphasis on wholes and
patterns,
challenges every single dividing line between areas of study and
knowledge." Paul Davies (The Cosmic Blueprint: New
Discoveries in Nature's Creative Ability to Order the Universe" New York:
Simon & Schuster 1988) examines a new paradigm or worldview that reflects a
more integrative point of view: "the collective, cooperative, and
organizational aspects of nature..."
"how can schools become more integrated
and cohesive?" Schools must not isolate children from life experience.
In designing a curriculum for transdisciplinary studies, look for relationships
and patterns in different subjects and organize the subject matter according to
unifying themes. Seeing relationships and patterns results in the meaningful
integration
of the different subject areas.
Progress in science (progressive science) involves changes
in paradigms. As in the progress of science, progress in education also
involves changes in paradigms. The paradigms in education are defined by
educational theories. The replacement of one theory by another brings about new
paradigms and the result is progress in education i.e. ‘progressive education’.
The traditional paradigm of education is based
on the theory of learning as conditioning, extrinsic motivation, and teaching as
instruction. The traditional paradigm is being replaced by the new holistic
paradigm which is based on theories of experiential learning, intrinsic motivation and teaching as the facilitation of learning. It is the
holistic paradigm which defines the new methodology for teaching i.e. teaching
the whole child… teaching for growth through learning …intellectual, emotional,
psychological, and spiritual development i.e. personality and character
development or 'moral development'.
The holistic
paradigm... holistic education...is concerned with development of moral consciousness or 'conscience'. Conscience or 'soul' is the source of the values for human living i.e. 'human values'.
The evolution
of education… educational progress… educational theories Can also
be described in terms of revolutions which correlate with scientific
revolutions. There is a paradigm shift in education …
also a result of the change in theoretical framework
... ‘fundamental shift’.
Just as science is progressive, education is
progressive (‘progressive education’).
A new paradigm is emerging... with emphasis on the process of learning rather
than on teaching... The attention of educators is being shifted ...drawn away
from the paradigm of the behavioral sciences and towards the biological basis
of the human potential for learning and thinking ...new paradigm of the systems
approach... the new holistic paradigm
The
history of educational practice is based on paradigms, paradigm crises,
paradigm debates and paradigm shifts. A paradigm in education is a theoretical
framework within which methodologies of educational practice are designed. The
paradigm of so-called 'traditional' education is based on a belief that the learning
process is a matter of conditioning and is therefore passive. The traditional
paradigm for teaching is based on the assumption that effective learning
involves learner motivation for external rewards. Consequently the function of
the teacher is to decide what and how the students should learn. This
traditional paradigm of teaching and learning is seriously questioned today...
'paradigm crisis'. On the basis of recent findings in brain research, it turns
out that learning is most effective when it involves the brain's natural
function of creating meaning from experience... 'paradigm anomaly'. Effective
learning is active and involves motivation for the intrinsic rewards of
knolwedge and understanding.. 'paradigm shift'. In the new teaching paradigm
described as integrative, configurative or 'holistic', the teacher's function
is to empower the learner and facilitate natural learning..
Teaching Paradigm For Humane
Education In the traditional paradigm of education, school education as
conceived as an effective way for adapting children to the
rise of industrialism and to teach them the knowledge and the discipline which
they would need to adapt to the demands of an industrial society (1).
Traditional education emphasizes the mechanics of learning factual knowledge
and focuses on the methods of teaching (2). Traditional methods of teaching
were justified by the behavioural sciences and based on the premise that
learning involves the conscious part of the brain only (3). In the context of
conditioned learning, the role of the teacher is to define the outcomes of learning and to
decide what and how their students should learn (4). In the context of learning
outcomes and lesson plans, the evaluation of learning is in terms of conditioned responses
and passive learning (5). Knowledge and understanding are assessed and measured
in numerical terms... success is met with the rewards of recognition and high
grades; failure is met with lack of recognition and the punishment of low and failing
grades (6). In the context of this standardized grading system, children learn
to depend for their motivation on factors which are extrinsic to themselves...
they become extrinsically motivated (7). Declining motivation is thought to be
a cause for declining standards and the traditional paradigm of education is
being seriously questioned today (9).
Development of human values is the aim of 'holistic education'.
The
evolution of education… educational progress… educational theories...
can also be
described in terms of revolutions which correlate with the scientific
revolutions. There is a paradigm shift in education …
also a result of the change in theoretical framework
... ‘fundamental shift’.
Just as science is progressive, education is
progressive (‘progressive education’).
"The discoveries of Rudolf Steiner
concerning the interrelationships of body, soul and spirit represent a new
educational paradigm which ... can provide a secure theoretical and practical
foundation for a holistic education that directs itself to educate the whole
person for the whole of life." ("Gerald Karnow
"Educating the Whole Person for the Whole of Life" Holistic Education
Review, Spring, 1992)
“Different worldviews can lead to either expanded or
limited domains. Domains within holistic education emphasize
multidimensionality, wholeness, multiple perspectives, love as caring…”
(John Miller Holistic Curriculum)